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Students Give New Life to Grove White Oak

This table comes from the wood from a white oak tree that lived on the front lawn of the Grove at Virginia Tech. The tree died of natural causes in 2014 and was dated to be 314 years old. This puts the birth of the tree sometime before 1700!

The “1872 pylons” logo marks the growth year when Virginia Tech was established.

To push the envelope of entrepreneurial risk, the 2015-2016 Wood Enterprise Institute (WEI) team found a way that allows the Grove tree and its historical significance to live on as a custom hand-crafted table. This table highlights the natural character of the wood with a live-edge table top with a solid, attractive and functional base. A laser engraved inlay was used to mark the year when Virginia Tech was established on the exact growth year on the table. Dendrochronology on a tree disk from the butt log was used to help determine the location of the “1872” growth ring (1872.jpg). The inlay, bowties, and leg stretcher were made with sycamore wood that comes from the Henderson Lawn Sycamore tree --- another well-known historical tree from Virginia Tech’s past!

WEI Grove Oak Table built by students. This table comes from the wood from a white oak tree that lived on the front lawn of the Grove at Virginia Tech.

The students built 3 tables. Two of the tables were sold to alumni in the College of Natural Resources and Environment. The third table is on display at the Brooks Forest Products Center.

Over 500 hours of combined student hours went into the creation of these unique tables. This time included the design, testing, instruction, jig creation, promotion, marketing, and job coordination as well as the machining, assembly and finishing. While students learned about the fine craft of woodworking, a much higher order learning was practiced involving leadership and problem solving together as a team. These are skills that will last a lifetime!